"Increased His Average And Authority Within The Team": Irfan Pathan On India Star
Irfan Pathan also addressed the inevitable comparisons that follow prodigious Indian batters.
Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has backed under-fire batter Shubman Gill. The 26-year-old Gill, who is the captain of the national team in ODI and Test formats, recently lost his T20I vice-captaincy to Axar Patel following a string of poor performances. Gill made a comeback to T20I cricket after a gap of more than one year for the Asia Cup 2025. He could not grab the opportunity, failing with poor returns in batting that eventually led to his snub for India's upcoming five-match T20I series against New Zealand as well as the T20 World Cup 2026.
Irfan Pathan, while speaking on JioHotstar, defended Gill and said that his sudden fall is due to the challenges of responsibility.
"When I entered the Indian team at the age of 19, the great Rahul Dravid told me that you have come to the team, it is good, but things would get tougher from here. I asked what to do in case things get tough. He told me, 'You would get used to it.' Same can be said for Gill. He became captain, and in that England series, he increased his average and authority within the team. Then he got the ODI captaincy. When that happens, you get an opportunity to grow a lot," Pathan said.
He added that Gill is completely capable of scoring 25,000 to 30,000 international runs. "He has a lot of talent. There will always be comparisons. Virat was compared with Sachin (Tendulkar), and now Gill is being compared to Virat, who has scored those 25,000-30,000 runs. I think he is fully capable of it. He has a fine range of shots," the former India all-rounder said.
Gill shone in the England Test series during mid-2025, and that saw him earn a spot in India's T20I team. He struggled for consistency in the shortest format, scoring 291 runs in 15 innings at an average just over 24.
"The more responsibility and challenges he gets, he will grow more as a cricketer. I have seen that he is always ready for cricket, always willing to learn. He has that attitude in him," Pathan noted.
India Cricket Team
Irfan Pathan